1. Technical Field
This invention relates in general to distributed computing systems and in particular to methods whereby an end user may generate a plurality of deferred requests for such a system. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a method whereby an end user may generate a plurality of requests for a distributed computing system without being logged into such a system.
2. Background Art
Distributed computing systems are well known in the prior art. Such systems permit a plurality of end users to be simultaneously coupled via a network to a central processor or alternatively, permit multiple computers to be coupled together in a so-called Local Area Network (LAN). Such systems permit multiple users to share computer assets, such as databases, computational facilities or electronic mail facilities. Often a user of such a distributed computing system may generate multiple requests for that computing system during periods of time when the system itself if unavailable or the user is not logged into the system. For example, a user may generate such requests while operating with a personal computer at home and wish to process those requests upon returning to and logging into a distributed computing system. Additionally, the assets required to process a particular request may not be available to the end user despite his being logged into the distributed computing system. In such cases it is often necessary to defer a particular request until the user is logged into the system, or until the desired asset is available.
One problem noted with modern distributed computing systems is related to the ability of an end user to make a plurality of requests of the system, all or part of which may be deferred by the end user or the system for later completion. The inability of an end user to correlate and confirm the status of multiple deferred requests represents an impediment to the efficient utilization of such systems.
Therefore, it should be apparent that a need exists for a method whereby an end user may simply and efficiently determine the status of multiple deferred requests made for processing at a later time by a distributed computing system. Additionally, a need exists for a method whereby an end user may visually display a listing of all such deferred requests associated with an indication of the status of each.